Why should I choose Macrium Reflect?


TheMystic

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Hello community!

As an average (or above average) user myself, I have some experience in installing/ restoring Windows, doing a backup, etc. People have a natural preference for GUI over command line. But there are many who prefer built-in utilities to 3rd party solutions for multiple reasons:

1. Built-in utilities are good enough.
2. 3rd party solutions can be a privacy risk.
3. 3rd party solutions can be a security risk.
4. 3rd party solutions can be a resource hog.

In this context, let's look at the pros and cons of a very popular program - Macrium Reflect!

I have hardly used this program, but I do have some initial impressions:

1. I don't like the fact that they don't give you the link to download the actual program. They only give you an installer link, which then downloads the program for you. This itself raises a few questions on privacy.

2. The program size is very big compared to competition.

3. The program runs a mandatory background service.

4. The program punches a hole for an incoming connection in Windows Firewall, without your knowledge.

The above reasons are good enough for me to look at it skeptically.

Since I haven't used this program much, I would like to hear specific benefits of this program over others. If you love this program, please list the exact things you use it for, and why this is the best among competition.

Here, I'll post why I don't really need Macrium Reflect for doing my system backups:

I prefer to have my system images as an ISO for the following reasons:

1. Just two commands (in Windows Terminal/ Command Prompt/ PowerShell/ Deployment Tools from Windows ADK ) are required. It is extremely easy to copy and paste those commands. The 1st command generates the image.wim file and the 2nd command creates an ISO using the same file. You need to have files from an installation disk for the 2nd command though, and that is just about 700 MB in size.

2. It can be installed in a Virtual Machine (VM).

3. It can be installed in an external disk
(only Sysprep Generalized images will be bootable though on other computers).

4. I can extract the install.wim file from the ISO and use DISM to install/ restore the image on my system. No 3rd party utilities required. And no need to nuke the whole disk which happens if one were to use 3rd party utilties like Rufus or WinToUSB.

The built-in Windows System Image utility is good for the most part, but comes with limitations:

1. It can only be restored if partitions on your disk have not changed since the image was taken. If you force a restore, you will lose your existing partitions and the data in them.
2. It can only be used on the source machine that was imaged.

The default Recovery Disk created using built-in utilities is good enough to get your system up and running if you have an image backup like the one described above. If you have a working Recovery partition, then the Recovery Disk isn't even required.

Since I haven't used the program extensively, I may be missing something. I am interested in the following:

1. What are your reasons to choose Macrium Reflect despite the above?
2. What can Macrium Reflect do that built-in utilities can't?
3. Why do you think Macrium Reflect is the best among competition?

Thanks.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy dv7
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 3630QM
    Motherboard
    HP
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4000 & Nvidia GeForce GT 635M
    Sound Card
    IDT High Definition
    Screen Resolution
    1080p
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Crucial MX500 on bay 1.
    1 TB Seagate HDD on bay 2.
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
@TheMystic

Because I went to all the trouble to make this really cool, quick reference pic...


000000 MACRIUM 2.jpg
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦22631.3374 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦23H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® [May 2020]
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
    Motherboard
    Asus Pro WS X570-ACE (BIOS 4702)
    Memory
    G.Skill (F4-3200C14D-16GTZKW)
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA RTX 2070 (08G-P4-2171-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC1220P / ALC S1220A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U3011 30"
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1600
    Hard Drives
    2x Samsung 860 EVO 500GB,
    WD 4TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    WD 8TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    DRW-24B1ST CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling 750W Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Cooler Master ATCS 840 Tower
    Cooling
    CM Hyper 212 EVO (push/pull)
    Keyboard
    Ducky DK9008 Shine II Blue LED
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-100
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox (latest)
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Internet Security
    Other Info
    Speakers: Klipsch Pro Media 2.1
  • Operating System
    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® (not in use)
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
    Memory
    TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic G90FB Black 19" Professional (CRT)
    Screen Resolution
    up to 2048 x 1536
    Hard Drives
    WD 36GB 10,000rpm Raptor SATA
    Seagate 80GB 7200rpm SATA
    Lite-On LTR-52246S CD/RW
    Lite-On LH-18A1P CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Generic Beige case, 80mm fans
    Cooling
    ZALMAN 9500A 92mm CPU Cooler
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-BT96a
    Keyboard
    Logitech Classic Keybooard 200
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox 3.x ??
    Antivirus
    Symantec (Norton)
    Other Info
    Still assembled, still runs. Haven't turned it on for 13 years?
^ LOL
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    DIY Photoshop/Game/tinker build
    CPU
    Intel i9 1300KS
    Motherboard
    Asus ROG Maximus Z90 Dark Hero
    Memory
    64GB (2x32) G.skill Trident Z5 RGB 6400 MHZ 32-39-39
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus ROG Strix 4070 Ti OC
    Sound Card
    Onboard Audio, Vanatoo Transparent One; Klipsch R-12SWi Sub; Creative Pebble Pro Minimilist
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Eizo CG2730, ViewSonic VP2768
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440p x 2
    Hard Drives
    WDC SN850 1TB nvme, SK-Hynix 2 TB P41 nvme, Raid 0: 1TB 850 EVO + 1TB 860 EVO SSD. Sabrent USB-C DS-SC5B 5-bay docking station: 6TB WDC Black, 6TB Ironwolf Pro; 2x 2TB WDC Black
    PSU
    850W Seasonic Vertex PX-850
    Case
    Fractal Design North XL Mesh, Black Walnut
    Cooling
    EKWB 360 Nucleus Dark AIO w/Phanteks T30-120 fans, 1 Noctua NF-A14 Chromax case fan
    Keyboard
    Glorious GMMK TKL mechanical, lubed modded
    Mouse
    Logitech G305 wireless gaming
    Internet Speed
    380 Mb/s down, 12 Mb/s up
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender, Macrium Reflect 8 ;-)
  • Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Apple 13" Macbook Pro 2020 (m1)
    CPU
    Apple M1
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1600
    Browser
    Firefox
The following contains some strongly worded opinions. These are mine alone. Apologies in advance, I just have a little difficulty with poor backup practices due to firsthand experiences with customers who have lost data, including a major bank I know of that literally lost millions because of one single stupid choice in backup policies.

So, let's begin...

The installer program gives you the option to download the entire program so that you can install it offline (you still need to activate it, however). You don't have to actually install the program using that installer.

The reason for doing it that way is that the installer gives you options to download just the main program or download optional MS components as well. It's far cleaner and simpler this way but accomplishes the same thing as manually downloading the product and multiple potential components without having to install it. They (as well as everyone) are prohibited from distributing WinPE so this is a clean way of accomplishing this.

In fact, I always download the latest build to make sure I have a local copy available.

Firewall - Yes, Macrium needs access to their servers to install various components and for being able to retrieve Windows PE components if you elect to create WinPE based recovery media (as opposed to WinRE based media). Do you really think that a company like Macrium would be stupid enough to risk their entire business on doing something nefarious? If you look at your firewall I'll bet you have dozens of holes punched in it right now. I'm sorry, you are simply going to have to trust SOMEONE if you plan to live in an online, connected world :)

As for backups to ISO images, how quaint! I understand it's a preference, but no "serious" backup schemes would use ISO images except for a single one-off backup with EXTREME limitations. If you are not serious about backups and use them merely at an amateur level, go with ISO images I guess. For a system image it would put HUGE limitations on the backup software. You simply can't do a lot with an ISO image, the very least of which is to store security info.

Some of my personal reasons for using Macrium Reflect:

Rapid backups and recovery, even on dissimilar hardware.

Ability to directly boot backup images.

Super easy to mount an image and use it as a disk drive from within Windows.

Ability to restore BitLocker encrypted volumes WITHOUT having to re-encrypt the data after a restore.

Excellent support of backup schemes that can be easily managed by the user.

Recovery media has WiFi support (very helpful for laptops).

Extreme reliability - When I devise a backup scheme, I test it and retest it. That means that I backup AND restore both to the same system and to other systems and I make DARN SURE that my backups AND recovery work flawlessly. I have never experienced any negative test results with Macrium.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win11 Pro 23H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Home Built
    CPU
    Intel i7-11700K
    Motherboard
    ASUS Prime Z590-A
    Memory
    128GB Crucial Ballistix 3200MHz DRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    No GPU - CPU graphics only (for now)
    Sound Card
    Realtek (on motherboard)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP Envy 32
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    1 x 1TB NVMe Gen 4 x 4 SSD
    1 x 2TB NVMe Gen 3 x 4 SSD
    2 x 512GB 2.5" SSDs
    2 x 8TB HD
    PSU
    Corsair HX850i
    Case
    Corsair iCue 5000X RGB
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black cooler + 10 case fans
    Keyboard
    CODE backlit mechanical keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1Gb Up / 1 Gb Down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Additional options installed:
    WiFi 6E PCIe adapter
    ASUS ThunderboltEX 4 PCIe adapter
  • Operating System
    Win11 Pro 23H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo ThinkBook 13x Gen 2
    CPU
    Intel i7-1255U
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek® ALC3306-CG codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    13.3-inch IPS Display
    Screen Resolution
    WQXGA (2560 x 1600)
    Hard Drives
    2 TB 4 x 4 NVMe SSD
    PSU
    USB-C / Thunderbolt 4 Power / Charging
    Mouse
    Buttonless Glass Precision Touchpad
    Keyboard
    Backlit, spill resistant keyboard
    Internet Speed
    1Gb Up / 1Gb Down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    WiFi 6e / Bluetooth 5.1 / Facial Recognition / Fingerprint Sensor / ToF (Time of Flight) Human Presence Sensor
@TheMystic

Because I went to all the trouble to make this really cool, quick reference pic...


View attachment 16096
Thank you. :)

Few questions:

1. You keep 12 days of full backups, so I guess your backups run daily and you can go back upto 2 weeks. Are these just system backups or full disk backups?

2. I don't think this is your personal computer backup plan. Correct?

3. How did you make those edits? Which app?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy dv7
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 3630QM
    Motherboard
    HP
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4000 & Nvidia GeForce GT 635M
    Sound Card
    IDT High Definition
    Screen Resolution
    1080p
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Crucial MX500 on bay 1.
    1 TB Seagate HDD on bay 2.
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
Thank you. :)

Few questions:

1. You keep 12 days of full backups, so I guess your backups run daily and you can go back upto 2 weeks. Are these just system backups or full disk backups?

2. I don't think this is your personal computer backup plan. Correct?

3. How did you make those edits? Which app?


1. No. I keep 12 full backups. When it gets to 12, it starts deleting the older ones first. 12 was default.
2. Yes. This is my personal computer backup plan.
3. I used the old Paintshop Pro 7.04 to make the pic.

I kept the total amount of data on my C:\ drive under 40GB. So a backup takes me 2:30
I make manual full backups, whenever I change something and might possibly want to undo those changes.

This is my drives setup and my current backups... the G:\ drive is the working, backups drive.
The K:\ drive is the backups storage drive.
Except for the G: and K: partitions, the 8TB drive is just a copy of the 4TB drive.


00000 Hard Drives.png

I have two identical 500GB SSDs. One with Win 10, and the other with Win 11.
I only hook one or the other up, at one time. It takes me about 30 seconds to switch SSDs.

Image4.png



On Ten Forums, I made a topic about the... method to my madness.

 
Last edited:

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦22631.3374 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦23H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® [May 2020]
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
    Motherboard
    Asus Pro WS X570-ACE (BIOS 4702)
    Memory
    G.Skill (F4-3200C14D-16GTZKW)
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA RTX 2070 (08G-P4-2171-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC1220P / ALC S1220A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U3011 30"
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1600
    Hard Drives
    2x Samsung 860 EVO 500GB,
    WD 4TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    WD 8TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    DRW-24B1ST CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling 750W Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Cooler Master ATCS 840 Tower
    Cooling
    CM Hyper 212 EVO (push/pull)
    Keyboard
    Ducky DK9008 Shine II Blue LED
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-100
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox (latest)
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Internet Security
    Other Info
    Speakers: Klipsch Pro Media 2.1
  • Operating System
    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® (not in use)
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
    Memory
    TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic G90FB Black 19" Professional (CRT)
    Screen Resolution
    up to 2048 x 1536
    Hard Drives
    WD 36GB 10,000rpm Raptor SATA
    Seagate 80GB 7200rpm SATA
    Lite-On LTR-52246S CD/RW
    Lite-On LH-18A1P CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Generic Beige case, 80mm fans
    Cooling
    ZALMAN 9500A 92mm CPU Cooler
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-BT96a
    Keyboard
    Logitech Classic Keybooard 200
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox 3.x ??
    Antivirus
    Symantec (Norton)
    Other Info
    Still assembled, still runs. Haven't turned it on for 13 years?
The following contains some strongly worded opinions. These are mine alone. Apologies in advance, I just have a little difficulty with poor backup practices due to firsthand experiences with customers who have lost data, including a major bank I know of that literally lost millions because of one single stupid choice in backup policies.

So, let's begin...

The installer program gives you the option to download the entire program so that you can install it offline (you still need to activate it, however). You don't have to actually install the program using that installer.

The reason for doing it that way is that the installer gives you options to download just the main program or download optional MS components as well. It's far cleaner and simpler this way but accomplishes the same thing as manually downloading the product and multiple potential components without having to install it. They (as well as everyone) are prohibited from distributing WinPE so this is a clean way of accomplishing this.

In fact, I always download the latest build to make sure I have a local copy available.

Firewall - Yes, Macrium needs access to their servers to install various components and for being able to retrieve Windows PE components if you elect to create WinPE based recovery media (as opposed to WinRE based media). Do you really think that a company like Macrium would be stupid enough to risk their entire business on doing something nefarious? If you look at your firewall I'll bet you have dozens of holes punched in it right now. I'm sorry, you are simply going to have to trust SOMEONE if you plan to live in an online, connected world :)

As for backups to ISO images, how quaint! I understand it's a preference, but no "serious" backup schemes would use ISO images except for a single one-off backup with EXTREME limitations. If you are not serious about backups and use them merely at an amateur level, go with ISO images I guess. For a system image it would put HUGE limitations on the backup software. You simply can't do a lot with an ISO image, the very least of which is to store security info.

Some of my personal reasons for using Macrium Reflect:

Rapid backups and recovery, even on dissimilar hardware.

Ability to directly boot backup images.

Super easy to mount an image and use it as a disk drive from within Windows.

Ability to restore BitLocker encrypted volumes WITHOUT having to re-encrypt the data after a restore.

Excellent support of backup schemes that can be easily managed by the user.

Recovery media has WiFi support (very helpful for laptops).

Extreme reliability - When I devise a backup scheme, I test it and retest it. That means that I backup AND restore both to the same system and to other systems and I make DARN SURE that my backups AND recovery work flawlessly. I have never experienced any negative test results with Macrium.
Installer
Companies offer offline installers as well. But Macrium chooses to provide only an online installer on their website. You can, however, use it to download the actual program that can be used later offline, but it won't be up-to-date. The online installer does nothing other than offering a few additional choices, something which is not absolutely essential. I guess they do it, at the bare minimum, to keep track of number of installs.

Firewall
They didn't have to force this as well. They can always pop-up a message when required so user can decide. I'm not saying they are into doing nefarious things, but just that they should make it optional. What if I don't want to create a Recovery media? The background service runs mandatorily and it will keep punching holes in the firewall even if you don't use the tools that require those services.

I have set Windows Firewall to BLOCK everything by default. Only the ones that comes on a fresh installation (Default Settings) are left untouched. Everytime I install a program, I open Windows Firewall to see if it has made any changes without my knowledge. If it does, I will block it. If it keeps overriding my setting, I will uninstall the program or disable the service. I have AOMEI Backupper on my system that does a similar thing. It is the Pro version, so I have kept it installed but disabled its background service. When I want to use it (which is not often), I disconnect the machine from the internet and then use the program. So I think I am in control of the Firewall as far as 3rd party programs are concerned. Correct me if I am wrong.

Benefits of Macrium Reflect
My mistake I didn't make it clear that I was focusing on the needs for personal use. Also, I was referring to system backup, and not File Backups. And yes, I already mentioned that I am an amateur user and I may be missing something.

Your approach is more for an enterprise environment. I don't see why someone would have a need to make daily backups or even weekly backups of the system on his personal computer.

All the points you have mentioned are very interesting, particularly the ability to boot from an image or mount an image and use it as a disk drive in Windows. Thanks. I'll probably give it a try.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy dv7
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 3630QM
    Motherboard
    HP
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4000 & Nvidia GeForce GT 635M
    Sound Card
    IDT High Definition
    Screen Resolution
    1080p
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Crucial MX500 on bay 1.
    1 TB Seagate HDD on bay 2.
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
@TheMystic


Normally, I'll only make one or rarely, two backups a month.
But occasionally, I'll have a problem that needs solved, and I'll make backups every day, or even twice a day.
I use the backups to troubleshoot.
The problem I just had recently, I thought was caused either by Firefox, or the fact that I removed EDGE.
It turned out to be an obscure setting in Bitdefender. As you can probably see from my K:\ drive,
the backups had to do with EDGE installed or not, and various Firefox versions.

Here was the problem....




Well, actually there were two problems. This is about the 2nd one...

 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦22631.3374 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦23H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® [May 2020]
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
    Motherboard
    Asus Pro WS X570-ACE (BIOS 4702)
    Memory
    G.Skill (F4-3200C14D-16GTZKW)
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA RTX 2070 (08G-P4-2171-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC1220P / ALC S1220A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U3011 30"
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1600
    Hard Drives
    2x Samsung 860 EVO 500GB,
    WD 4TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    WD 8TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    DRW-24B1ST CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling 750W Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Cooler Master ATCS 840 Tower
    Cooling
    CM Hyper 212 EVO (push/pull)
    Keyboard
    Ducky DK9008 Shine II Blue LED
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-100
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox (latest)
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Internet Security
    Other Info
    Speakers: Klipsch Pro Media 2.1
  • Operating System
    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® (not in use)
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
    Memory
    TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic G90FB Black 19" Professional (CRT)
    Screen Resolution
    up to 2048 x 1536
    Hard Drives
    WD 36GB 10,000rpm Raptor SATA
    Seagate 80GB 7200rpm SATA
    Lite-On LTR-52246S CD/RW
    Lite-On LH-18A1P CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Generic Beige case, 80mm fans
    Cooling
    ZALMAN 9500A 92mm CPU Cooler
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-BT96a
    Keyboard
    Logitech Classic Keybooard 200
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox 3.x ??
    Antivirus
    Symantec (Norton)
    Other Info
    Still assembled, still runs. Haven't turned it on for 13 years?
I don't see why someone would have a need to make daily backups or even weekly backups of the system on his personal computer.
Some home users do more than check email and do social media. You do know there is a thing called ransomware that encrypts all documents pictures music and videos on a computer.

Some home users actually work from home as well.

It is easier to restore a Macrium image than to reinstall the OS and its software and customizations.

Some prefer to store their life on a computer than using cloud options. I have a client who has 600 gigs of family photos and videos on his computer and would not want to lose that for any reason.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10
1. No. I keep 12 full backups. When it gets to 12, it starts deleting the older ones first. 12 was default.
2. Yes. This is my personal computer backup plan.
3. I used the old Paintshop Pro 7.04 to make the pic.

I kept the total amount of data on my C:\ drive under 40GB. So a backup takes me 2:30
I make manual full backups, whenever I change something and might possibly want to undo those changes.

This is my drives setup and my current backups... the G:\ drive is the working, backups drive.
The K:\ drive is the backups storage drive.
Except for the G: and K: partitions, the 8TB drive is just a copy of the 4TB drive.


View attachment 16098

I have two identical 500GB SSDs. One with Win 10, and the other with Win 11.
I only hook one or the other up, at one time. It takes me about 30 seconds to switch SSDs.

View attachment 16099



On Ten Forums, I made a topic about the... method to my madness.

Daily backups of personal system with a timespan of 12 days is an overkill and waste of storage in my opinion. But to each his own.

But I didn't see 12 continuous days of backup. Have you deleted the less important ones?

The Media and Series partitions - are these also backed up by Macrium Reflect?

Which File Explorer is that?

Your post on tenforums, can you elaborate on point 6 of secret ingredients: Why avoid sharing?

I made a post on how I have structured my files. A lot of effort on that was to make sharing and applying security permissions easy and simple. This is something you seem to recommend against. Why so?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy dv7
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 3630QM
    Motherboard
    HP
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4000 & Nvidia GeForce GT 635M
    Sound Card
    IDT High Definition
    Screen Resolution
    1080p
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Crucial MX500 on bay 1.
    1 TB Seagate HDD on bay 2.
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
Some home users do more than check email and do social media. You do know there is a thing called ransomware that encrypts all documents pictures music and videos on a computer.

Some home users actually work from home as well.

It is easier to restore a Macrium image than to reinstall the OS and its software and customizations.

Some prefer to store their life on a computer than using cloud options. I have a client who has 600 gigs of family photos and videos on his computer and would not want to lose that for any reason.

Just make sure your backups are offline. Otherwise ransomware attackers will encrypt them too and then you will be SOL.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    DIY Photoshop/Game/tinker build
    CPU
    Intel i9 1300KS
    Motherboard
    Asus ROG Maximus Z90 Dark Hero
    Memory
    64GB (2x32) G.skill Trident Z5 RGB 6400 MHZ 32-39-39
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus ROG Strix 4070 Ti OC
    Sound Card
    Onboard Audio, Vanatoo Transparent One; Klipsch R-12SWi Sub; Creative Pebble Pro Minimilist
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Eizo CG2730, ViewSonic VP2768
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440p x 2
    Hard Drives
    WDC SN850 1TB nvme, SK-Hynix 2 TB P41 nvme, Raid 0: 1TB 850 EVO + 1TB 860 EVO SSD. Sabrent USB-C DS-SC5B 5-bay docking station: 6TB WDC Black, 6TB Ironwolf Pro; 2x 2TB WDC Black
    PSU
    850W Seasonic Vertex PX-850
    Case
    Fractal Design North XL Mesh, Black Walnut
    Cooling
    EKWB 360 Nucleus Dark AIO w/Phanteks T30-120 fans, 1 Noctua NF-A14 Chromax case fan
    Keyboard
    Glorious GMMK TKL mechanical, lubed modded
    Mouse
    Logitech G305 wireless gaming
    Internet Speed
    380 Mb/s down, 12 Mb/s up
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender, Macrium Reflect 8 ;-)
  • Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Apple 13" Macbook Pro 2020 (m1)
    CPU
    Apple M1
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1600
    Browser
    Firefox
@TheMystic


Normally, I'll only make one or rarely, two backups a month.
But occasionally, I'll have a problem that needs solved, and I'll make backups every day, or even twice a day.
I use the backups to troubleshoot.
The problem I just had recently, I thought was caused either by Firefox, or the fact that I removed EDGE.
It turned out to be an obscure setting in Bitdefender. As you can probably see from my K:\ drive,
the backups had to do with EDGE installed or not, and various Firefox versions.

Here was the problem....




Well, actually there were two problems. This is about the 2nd one...

So you don't make daily backups of your personal computer with a 12-day timeline? Isn't this the opposite of what you said earlier?

I am also getting the same error on the 1st link.

With the 2nd link, I am told I don't have permission to view the page:

20211213_132740.png
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy dv7
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 3630QM
    Motherboard
    HP
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4000 & Nvidia GeForce GT 635M
    Sound Card
    IDT High Definition
    Screen Resolution
    1080p
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Crucial MX500 on bay 1.
    1 TB Seagate HDD on bay 2.
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
Some home users do more than check email and do social media. You do know there is a thing called ransomware that encrypts all documents pictures music and videos on a computer.

Some home users actually work from home as well.

It is easier to restore a Macrium image than to reinstall the OS and its software and customizations.

Some prefer to store their life on a computer than using cloud options. I have a client who has 600 gigs of family photos and videos on his computer and would not want to lose that for any reason.
We are only talking of system backups, as in Windows system. Not file backups or disk backups.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy dv7
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 3630QM
    Motherboard
    HP
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4000 & Nvidia GeForce GT 635M
    Sound Card
    IDT High Definition
    Screen Resolution
    1080p
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Crucial MX500 on bay 1.
    1 TB Seagate HDD on bay 2.
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
Just make sure your backups are offline. Otherwise ransomware attackers will encrypt them too and then you will be SOL.
Doesn't Windows come with a built-in Ransomware protection via their Protected Folders feature? Or is it not good enough?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy dv7
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 3630QM
    Motherboard
    HP
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4000 & Nvidia GeForce GT 635M
    Sound Card
    IDT High Definition
    Screen Resolution
    1080p
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Crucial MX500 on bay 1.
    1 TB Seagate HDD on bay 2.
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
So you don't make daily backups of your personal computer with a 12-day timeline? Isn't this the opposite of what you said earlier?

I am also getting the same error on the 1st link.

With the 2nd link, I am told I don't haver permission to view the page:

View attachment 16102


I don't do 12 anything.
Macrium comes with that number set at 12 by default.
What it's supposed to do is start deleting the oldest backups after you get to 12 backups.
You can set it for other numbers.

I only have at most 3-4 backups on my G:\ drive due to space. each backup is ~18GB.

Only when I'm troubleshooting do I have many backups in a short period of time. Or maybe testing a new program.
If you look at the names of the backups on the K:\ drive, in December, you'll see that they're all a tiny bit different.


As for sharing... I realize that in a multi computer household, it might be easier to share.
IMO, sharing is a no-no cause if one computer gets infected... it can spread.
But that's a personal thing.

And the 2nd link is to a post in the VIP section.
Here's a link to the problem at bugzilla...
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦22631.3374 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦23H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® [May 2020]
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
    Motherboard
    Asus Pro WS X570-ACE (BIOS 4702)
    Memory
    G.Skill (F4-3200C14D-16GTZKW)
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA RTX 2070 (08G-P4-2171-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC1220P / ALC S1220A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U3011 30"
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1600
    Hard Drives
    2x Samsung 860 EVO 500GB,
    WD 4TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    WD 8TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    DRW-24B1ST CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling 750W Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Cooler Master ATCS 840 Tower
    Cooling
    CM Hyper 212 EVO (push/pull)
    Keyboard
    Ducky DK9008 Shine II Blue LED
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-100
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox (latest)
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Internet Security
    Other Info
    Speakers: Klipsch Pro Media 2.1
  • Operating System
    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® (not in use)
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
    Memory
    TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic G90FB Black 19" Professional (CRT)
    Screen Resolution
    up to 2048 x 1536
    Hard Drives
    WD 36GB 10,000rpm Raptor SATA
    Seagate 80GB 7200rpm SATA
    Lite-On LTR-52246S CD/RW
    Lite-On LH-18A1P CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Generic Beige case, 80mm fans
    Cooling
    ZALMAN 9500A 92mm CPU Cooler
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-BT96a
    Keyboard
    Logitech Classic Keybooard 200
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox 3.x ??
    Antivirus
    Symantec (Norton)
    Other Info
    Still assembled, still runs. Haven't turned it on for 13 years?
Personally I make backups as I need them to mitigate risk. I have plenty of storage available for them by design. I have system and data backups, with quite a lot of data from photography. I keep multiple copies of the data on external disks (automated) that are turned off unless I need them. I copy system backups to the external disks when I deem them crucial. Would not use cloud storage as I trust more in my system of protection than any cloud provider (except maybe Amazon cloud storage, which is too expensive for me).
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    DIY Photoshop/Game/tinker build
    CPU
    Intel i9 1300KS
    Motherboard
    Asus ROG Maximus Z90 Dark Hero
    Memory
    64GB (2x32) G.skill Trident Z5 RGB 6400 MHZ 32-39-39
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus ROG Strix 4070 Ti OC
    Sound Card
    Onboard Audio, Vanatoo Transparent One; Klipsch R-12SWi Sub; Creative Pebble Pro Minimilist
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Eizo CG2730, ViewSonic VP2768
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440p x 2
    Hard Drives
    WDC SN850 1TB nvme, SK-Hynix 2 TB P41 nvme, Raid 0: 1TB 850 EVO + 1TB 860 EVO SSD. Sabrent USB-C DS-SC5B 5-bay docking station: 6TB WDC Black, 6TB Ironwolf Pro; 2x 2TB WDC Black
    PSU
    850W Seasonic Vertex PX-850
    Case
    Fractal Design North XL Mesh, Black Walnut
    Cooling
    EKWB 360 Nucleus Dark AIO w/Phanteks T30-120 fans, 1 Noctua NF-A14 Chromax case fan
    Keyboard
    Glorious GMMK TKL mechanical, lubed modded
    Mouse
    Logitech G305 wireless gaming
    Internet Speed
    380 Mb/s down, 12 Mb/s up
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender, Macrium Reflect 8 ;-)
  • Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Apple 13" Macbook Pro 2020 (m1)
    CPU
    Apple M1
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1600
    Browser
    Firefox
I don't do 12 anything.
Macrium comes with that number set at 12 by default.
What it's supposed to do is start deleting the oldest backups after you get to 12 backups.
You can set it for other numbers.

I only have at most 3-4 backups on my G:\ drive due to space. each backup is ~18GB.

Only when I'm troubleshooting do I have many backups in a short period of time. Or maybe testing a new program.
If you look at the names of the backups on the K:\ drive, in December, you'll see that they're all a tiny bit different.


As for sharing... I realize that in a multi computer household, it might be easier to share.
IMO, sharing is a no-no cause if one computer gets infected... it can spread.
But that's a personal thing.

And the 2nd link is to a post in the VIP section. :(
Okay.

You didn't say which file explorer you are using.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy dv7
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 3630QM
    Motherboard
    HP
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4000 & Nvidia GeForce GT 635M
    Sound Card
    IDT High Definition
    Screen Resolution
    1080p
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Crucial MX500 on bay 1.
    1 TB Seagate HDD on bay 2.
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
Okay.

You didn't say which file explorer you are using.


That's just the regular File Explorer that comes with Windows.
I have it set the same on both Win 11 and Win 10
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦22631.3374 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦23H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® [May 2020]
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
    Motherboard
    Asus Pro WS X570-ACE (BIOS 4702)
    Memory
    G.Skill (F4-3200C14D-16GTZKW)
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA RTX 2070 (08G-P4-2171-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC1220P / ALC S1220A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U3011 30"
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1600
    Hard Drives
    2x Samsung 860 EVO 500GB,
    WD 4TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    WD 8TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    DRW-24B1ST CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling 750W Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Cooler Master ATCS 840 Tower
    Cooling
    CM Hyper 212 EVO (push/pull)
    Keyboard
    Ducky DK9008 Shine II Blue LED
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-100
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox (latest)
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Internet Security
    Other Info
    Speakers: Klipsch Pro Media 2.1
  • Operating System
    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® (not in use)
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
    Memory
    TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic G90FB Black 19" Professional (CRT)
    Screen Resolution
    up to 2048 x 1536
    Hard Drives
    WD 36GB 10,000rpm Raptor SATA
    Seagate 80GB 7200rpm SATA
    Lite-On LTR-52246S CD/RW
    Lite-On LH-18A1P CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Generic Beige case, 80mm fans
    Cooling
    ZALMAN 9500A 92mm CPU Cooler
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-BT96a
    Keyboard
    Logitech Classic Keybooard 200
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox 3.x ??
    Antivirus
    Symantec (Norton)
    Other Info
    Still assembled, still runs. Haven't turned it on for 13 years?
That's just the regular File Explorer that comes with Windows.
I have it set the same on both Win 11 and Win 10
I was interested in that graphical representation of usage under Detailed view. Just saw that we can add more fields to show in File Explorer. Thanks.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy dv7
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 3630QM
    Motherboard
    HP
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4000 & Nvidia GeForce GT 635M
    Sound Card
    IDT High Definition
    Screen Resolution
    1080p
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Crucial MX500 on bay 1.
    1 TB Seagate HDD on bay 2.
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
I was interested in that graphical representation of usage under Detailed view. Just saw that we can add more fields to show in File Explorer. Thanks.


Yeah, I like that view as well. You see everything at a glance.

Image1.png




Golf Club Sign.png
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦22631.3374 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦23H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® [May 2020]
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
    Motherboard
    Asus Pro WS X570-ACE (BIOS 4702)
    Memory
    G.Skill (F4-3200C14D-16GTZKW)
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA RTX 2070 (08G-P4-2171-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC1220P / ALC S1220A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U3011 30"
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1600
    Hard Drives
    2x Samsung 860 EVO 500GB,
    WD 4TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    WD 8TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    DRW-24B1ST CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling 750W Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Cooler Master ATCS 840 Tower
    Cooling
    CM Hyper 212 EVO (push/pull)
    Keyboard
    Ducky DK9008 Shine II Blue LED
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-100
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox (latest)
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Internet Security
    Other Info
    Speakers: Klipsch Pro Media 2.1
  • Operating System
    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® (not in use)
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
    Memory
    TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic G90FB Black 19" Professional (CRT)
    Screen Resolution
    up to 2048 x 1536
    Hard Drives
    WD 36GB 10,000rpm Raptor SATA
    Seagate 80GB 7200rpm SATA
    Lite-On LTR-52246S CD/RW
    Lite-On LH-18A1P CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Generic Beige case, 80mm fans
    Cooling
    ZALMAN 9500A 92mm CPU Cooler
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-BT96a
    Keyboard
    Logitech Classic Keybooard 200
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox 3.x ??
    Antivirus
    Symantec (Norton)
    Other Info
    Still assembled, still runs. Haven't turned it on for 13 years?

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